Dan Skelton added over £30,000 to his tally to take his lead to almost £70,000 as he took advantage of a blank day for Willie Mullins in the race to be champion trainer.
With title holder Mullins not represented in the UK on Saturday, Skelton will have hoped to put some real daylight between the two of them, with big-money meetings at Plumpton and Perth on the horizon before Saturday’s Sandown finale.
The day began well for Skelton at Haydock, with his brother Harry producing Soleil d’Arizona to win the opener and bag £8,169.
Strolling Along then added £820 when placed at Huntingdon before Got Grey got going a little too late in the JCB Challenger Two Mile Hurdle Series Final Handicap Hurdle and just failed to reel in Givemefive.
First prize was over £20,000, while Got Grey took home £9,460.
It was then the turn of Le Milos, once a very smart handicapper, in the Unibet Middle Distance Veterans’ Handicap Chase and he added £6,095 to the cause in fourth.
Over at Newton Abbot, Tristan Durrell made a bold bid from the front on Heltenham in the feature Plymouth Motor Company Handicap Chase but he was agonisingly caught by Scarface, picking up £4,860 for coming second.
Back at Haydock, Queens Venture was another to run her race, finishing second in the JCB Hydrogen Novices’ Handicap Hurdle and adding £2,430.
In total, Skelton added £31,834, meaning his overall lead is now £69,358.
Paddy Power make Mullins the 1-3 favourite to hold on to his title, with Skelton a 9-4 chance.
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Willie Mullins is taking dead aim at Plumpton’s valuable two-day Easter fixture, as he hunts down Dan Skelton and attempts to retain his British champion trainer crown.
Having seemingly given up the ghost earlier in the year, his usual Cheltenham domination went before an unprecedented result in the Grand National when he saddled five of the first seven home, winning over £800,000.
Coupled with winning a host of other Grade Ones at the meeting, Mullins was suddenly within touching distance and declared the battle was on, before then enjoying a Scottish National one-two.
He perhaps did not make as much of an inroad into Skelton’s advantage as expected at Cheltenham’s two-day meeting this week, and is not represented in the UK on Saturday. But come Sunday and Plumpton’s BetGoodwin Sussex Champion Hurdle Handicap Hurdle, he most certainly is.
With Fairyhouse also staging a big meeting, Mullins is relying on the home team of jockeys for his four raiders.
Nico de Boinville wears the familiar Joe and Marie Donnelly silks on Daddy Long Legs, while fresh from winning the Scottish National on Mullins’ Captain Cody, Harry Cobden rides last year’s County Hurdle winner Absurde. Jonjo O’Neill jr, who won the Triumph Hurdle on 100-1 shot Poniros for the yard, partners Sir Gerhard and Sam Twiston-Davies is on Tounsivator.
Skelton runs Knickerbockerglory and Aintree winner She’s A Saint.
Plumpton’s chief executive Craig Staddon said: “We are over the moon with Willie’s entries for both Sunday and Monday, which adds another dimension to what was already promising to be a really competitive weekend of racing.
“As a small racecourse, we have put in a lot of effort organising these two days and hopefully everyone who decides to join us will be in for a treat.”
Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father, said: “The fantastic prize-money on offer is a real credit to everyone at Plumpton. I enjoyed my visit there last month and we are looking forward to sending a team over this weekend.”
Mullins also runs King Alexander and Mr Escobar in the Phoenix Cycles Remember Ray Prior Handicap Hurdle later on the card.
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Victory for Le Milos in the £100,000 Unibet Middle Distance Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Haydock would be very welcome for Dan Skelton, as he valiantly attempts to fend off the might of Willie Mullins.
For the second year in a row Skelton has seen a sizeable advantage in the trainers’ title race rapidly diminish, after Mullins dominated at Cheltenham, took the lion’s share of the £1million on offer in the Grand National and then had the one-two in last weekend’s Scottish National.
Races with this amount of prize-money – with £51,440 for first place – away from the big meetings are rare, and with Mullins not having a runner, it is a good chance for Skelton to pull away before the Closutton machine rolls into Plumpton and Perth over the next few days.
Three runs ago Le Milos won in veterans’ company and having been out at Newbury and Aintree since, should find life a little easier against horses more his age.
“We ran him at Aintree as we were looking for somewhere where the ground would be best for him,” said Ladbrokes ambassador Skelton.
“The ground up here will be no problem; he’s won on good ground before, and he’s in good form.
“He’s running well, and obviously won at Warwick against the veterans, and this is the first time he’s been back against the veterans since that day. Hopefully he’s one of the players in this league and he can go well here.”
Skelton is currently 3-1 with Ladbrokes to claim a first title after keeping Mullins (2-9) at arm’s length through the week.
Last year’s winner Numitor is back for more for Heather Main.
The grey has enjoyed a fine season this term too, winning three of his five outings – including last time out at Ascot – but that means he is almost a stone higher in the weights.
“Numitor is really well. This has been our aim the whole season and he is ready to go,” said Main.
“Ascot last time wasn’t the plan but it ended up being his prep race for the final on Saturday.
“We didn’t know if he would stay and while he had run on quicker ground, with a big horse like him you are never quite sure. But in the end he loved the ground and he loved three miles. Hopefully that run wasn’t too close but he needed a prep run because there had been a bit of a gap since he last ran.
“Although he has run mostly in smaller fields, I don’t think field size is important to him as long as he gets into a rhythm. He loves racing and he loves jumping – he just pings them and that is what he is all about.”
Regarding the extra weight Main said: “It doesn’t worry me too much although I don’t want to be overly confident. He is such a big horse and we feel the bigger they are, the more they are able to carry the weight. I hope that proves the case on Saturday.”
Joe Tizzard runs both Eldorado Allen and The Widow Maker, Henry Hogarth’s Flic Ou Voyou arrives on the back of a win while Dubai Days (Nick Alexander) has been aimed at this all season.
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Dan Skelton managed to increase his lead at the top of the National Hunt champion trainers’ table to over £37,000 courtesy of Shakeyatailfeather’s success at Cheltenham on Thursday, backed up by a winner at Ffos Las’ evening meeting.
Skelton began the latest instalment of his enthralling battle with Willie Mullins with a shade over £30,000 in hand on the defending champion, with his Cheltenham runners complemented by chances at Ffos Las later in the day, where he struck with Ronnies Rules – picking up £6,443 – and just missed out with Delgany Deadline.
Sainte Lucie, Mullins’ runner in the opening KTDA Fillies’ Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at Prestbury Park, was considered a real opportunity to bridge the gap and went off the 10-11 favourite under the trainer’s nephew, Danny.
She could not live up to the those odds, however, and was eventually fourth to earn only minor money, as Skelton’s runner, Our Lil, came home empty handed.
The Exertis-Samsung Racing Excellence Award Challenger Series Mares’ Chase Final looked to promise a decent sum to Skelton as he had the 9-4 favourite, Coco Mademoiselle, and Mullins was without a runner.
But an unseat three from home put paid to that and with Skelton also unrepresented in the Aston Martin Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Chase, it was another chance for Mullins to add to his tally as A Penny A Hundred was second and Judicieuse Allen was fifth.
Shakeyatailfeather (2-1 favourite) then answered the call for Skelton after his earlier misfortune, landing the Holland Cooper Mares’ Handicap Chase in good style to claim over £13,000.
Elsewhere on the card, though no longer in a position to throw his hat into the ring for the trainers’ title this season, Paul Nicholls still enjoyed a successful afternoon as Jubilee Alpha took the Listed Changing Young Lives At Jamie’s Farm Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle on the 14-time champion’s birthday.
At 4-1 and under Harry Cobden the six-year-old was able to put a disappointing Festival run behind her to score by a length and three-quarters, as Skelton and Mullins could only make up the minor places with their runners.
“It’s nice to have a birthday winner, the better ground and step up in trip suited her,” Nicholls told Racing TV.
“The fillies didn’t look right at Cheltenham, they look better now and they’ve gone a lot better.
“That was a fantastic ride, I was thinking she was too far back but Harry knows better than I do and he gave it a peach and she won very, very nicely.”
Dan Skelton extended his lead over Willie Mullins in the National Hunt trainers’ championship to just over £30,000 by taking the feature race on the opening day of the April meeting at Cheltenham.
Skelton pocketed the first prize of £39,865 when Riskintheground held off the challenge of the Mullins-trained O’Moore Park to win the Matt Hampson Foundation Silver Trophy Handicap Chase.
Mullins also took prize-money with Classic Getaway finishing sixth, but it was a significant chunk for Skelton while also denying Mullins the chance to move ahead of him.
Skelton told Racing TV: “When he hit the front it did feel like a long run-in. It’s funny how sport works out. Just because we’ve won that race it doesn’t mean that we’re going to go and win the next, win the next, win the next.
“It’s going to be very hard. But like I said last weekend, we ain’t giving up and we’re going to do our best. I don’t think we’re going to win, but the staff do! So I’m going to lead them and hope that we do.
“It’s not enough. But we’re a lot closer than we were last year. What will be will be. We’ll keep running the ones that we can and we’ll enjoy it.
“We mustn’t forget to enjoy this because it’s an amazing position to be in. To have won over £3million prize-money this year the team, all the owners.
“The support we’re getting is just phenomenal. I got support last year, but nothing like this year. I think because last year our chance was gone after the National. This year because we’re in with a chance the support we’re feeling is very humbling.
“I’ve got to remember to enjoy it. Hopefully it’s as exciting for everyone in the last 10 days as it has been for the last 10 days.”
Mullins had started the day by closing the gap on Skelton when Dr Eggman finished second and Toad Hall fourth in the Citipost Novices’ Hurdle.
Skelton added to his prize fund when Mr Hope Street came home third in the Safran Landing Systems Handicap Hurdle.
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Cheveley Park Stud are doing their bit to aid Willie Mullins’ title defence by sending Classic Getaway to Cheltenham for Wednesday’s Matt Hampson Foundation Silver Trophy.
The Closutton handler looked to face an uphill task to reel in Dan Skelton a couple of weeks ago, but a spectacular Grand National meeting at Aintree followed by a Scottish Grand National one-two at the weekend has dramatically turned the tide in his favour in the race to be crowned champion trainer.
With less than two weeks of the season to go, Skelton holds the slenderest of leads and both trainers are unsurprisingly well represented across the two days at Prestbury Park.
A total prize fund of £70,000 is up for grabs in the Grade Two feature and the big two go head-to-head, with Mullins running Classic Getaway and O’Moore Park, and Skelton sending Riskintheground back into battle five days after bolting up at Ayr, as well as saddling outsider Harper’s Brook.
Classic Getaway cost Cheveley Park £570,000 five years ago and while he has struggled to fulfil his early promise, he heads to the Cotswolds fresh from the biggest victory of his career so far in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park in February.
Cheveley Park director Richard Thompson said: “He was good at Gowran and we’d have big hopes on Wednesday, hopefully we can help Willie get some more prize-money.
“He’s a horse who cost a lot of money and I suppose there were going to be big hopes of him, but he’s doing his job and we enjoy having him in the squad.
“We’ll always try to help Willie if possible. He’s given us a few Cheltenham wins and a few big ones and it’s reciprocal in that respect.
“Grangeclare West obviously made some good prize-money for him and us when finishing third in the Grand National, so hopefully Classic Getaway can do his bit as well.”
Mullins is also represented by both Dr Eggman and Toad Hall in the £20,000 Citipost Novices’ Hurdle, while Skelton has a total of six runners on the card, with Doyen Quest, Illico De Cotte, Mr Hope Street and Williethebuilder all aiming to boost the trainer’s prize pot.
It is the same story on Thursday, with Mullins’ Sainte Lucie taking on the Skelton-trained Our Lil in the £40,000 KTDA Fillies’ Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, while Mullins runs both Judicieuse Allen and A Penny A Hundred in the £50,000 Aston Martin Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Chase.
They do battle again in the £40,000 Changing Young Lives At Jamie’s Farm Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, with Sainte Tartare (Mullins) and Settle Down Jill (Skelton) bidding for Listed honours.
Skelton also sends Coco Mademoiselle and Lady Jago in to bat in the Exertis-Samsung Racing Excellence Award Challenger Series Mares’ Chase Final, Pawapuri contests the Catesby Estates Mares’ Challenger Series Final Handicap Hurdle, Shakeyatailfeather goes in the Holland Cooper Mares’ Handicap Chase and Sheezer Dancer makes her debut in the Junior Jumpers Mares’ Open National Hunt Flat Race.
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Plumpton are set to benefit from the incredibly tight margins in the British jumps trainers’ championship as their Easter meeting has attracted healthy support from the key protagonists.
Dan Skelton holds a narrow lead over Irish rival and defending champion Willie Mullins, with some significant prize money on offer at Plumpton on Easter Sunday and Monday, when the track’s commitment to providing worthy prize pots has been rewarded.
On Sunday the key event is the BetGoodwin Sussex Champion Hurdle, in which Mullins has entered County Hurdle winner Kargese, the useful dual-purpose gelding Absurde, who was third in the same race, and the two-time Cheltenham Festival winner Sir Gerhard.
Mullins has 11 horses entered at the track on Sunday, whereas Skelton has put forward 17 at this stage and has four in the mix for the feature race worth £39,023 to the winner.
“We’re really happy with the entries, we’ve benefited with the title race becoming so close, which we hoped we would,” said Marcus Waters, clerk of the course at Plumpton.
“Willie Mullins has entered some really high-class horses, ones that have won and performed really well at Cheltenham in the past, which is brilliant.
“We’ve got a good cohort of our local trainers sending their best horses as well, so hopefully we’ll get some very competitive racing.
“When we were planning the meeting across the two Premier racing days, part of our thinking was that it might go down to the wire like it did last year.
“That might bring people to tracks they wouldn’t go to normally, which gives us a really good opportunity to showcase what Plumpton is all about.
“The forecast shows a little bit of rain this week but it’s not going to change dramatically, hopefully they stand their ground as the whole card looks really good.
“We’re looking forward to getting the Monday entries tomorrow and seeing what we’ve got there. We’ve the £100,000 Sussex Champion Chase so hopefully we can replicate the quality of the entries across the two days.”
A successful raid on the Coral Scottish Grand National has left Willie Mullins trailing Dan Skelton by little over £1,400 as the title battle looks set to go right to the wire.
Skelton had looked a shoo-in for his first championship prior to Aintree, but Mullins’ extraordinary success in Liverpool saw the trophy slip from his grasp as the gap at the head of the table became dangerously slim.
On the Friday of the Ayr meeting the Skelton yard showed they would not go down without a fight, however, as a treble and over £46,000 in prize money reasserted their dominance.
Mullins had saved his key chances for Saturday, though, and saddled six in the feature.
It was Captain Cody who came to the fore under Harry Cobden, with stablemate Klarc Kent the runner-up to give Mullins a one-two as Skelton’s contenders both failed to finish.
Further placed prize money and the victory of Dysart Dolomite in the BrandingHub For Signs & Graphics Open National Hunt Flat Race aided the Mullins cause even further.
Mullins was not counting his chickens before they have hatched, however, and told Racing TV: “Dan won’t be standing still so he’ll probably win it, and if he does he’ll feel like he’s won a proper title.
“Today we were having a dreadful day until the National but then it came right which puts us right back in there.
“There’s still a long way to go.”
Paddy Power have Mullins as the 1-8 favourite to retain the title having been trimmed from 1-3, with Skelton now a 9-2 chance.
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Dan Skelton shows no sign of giving up on his dream of a first trainer’s championship after extending his title race lead with a treble on day one of the Coral Scottish Grand National meeting at Ayr.
The Alcester handler appeared to have one hand on the trophy little over a week ago, but reigning champion Willie Mullins spectacularly slashed the deficit across three days at Aintree as he not only claimed eight winners but also saddled five of the first seven home in the Grand National.
Just over £122,000 separated the pair prior to racing in the west of Scotland on Friday – and with the Mullins saving his battalion for Saturday’s card, Skelton seized the opportunity to go further clear, with three winners and a narrow second seeing him add £46,276 to his prize pot.
Dan Skelton talks to former footballer Ally McCoist at Ayr (Steve Welsh/PA)
Skelton said: “It’s been a good day, they’ve all run really well. We needed to see them run well, so that was good.
“We thought we had a nice bunch, Ayr has been good to us in the past and it’s nice to see that continue.”
It did not take Skelton long to hit the target, with his first runner of the afternoon Roxanne (100-30) making a successful debut over obstacles in the Abbott Risk Consulting Ltd Mares’ Maiden Hurdle.
Roxanne’s rider Kielan Woods then completed a double aboard Billy Boi Blue (12-1), who denied the Skelton-trained 100-30 favourite Ace Of Spades by a head in the Get Home Safe With Thistle Cabs Handicap Hurdle.
Dan and Harry Skelton with Riskintheground following his victory at Ayr (Steve Welsh/PA)
However, Dan and Harry Skelton were soon back in the winner’s enclosure, with 13-2 shot Riskintheground picking up the best part of £26,000 with victory in the feature Hillhouse Quarry Handicap Chase, and the hat-trick was completed by Asta La Pasta, who justified 6-4 favouritism with a front-running demolition job in the SEKO Logistics Scotland Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.
The yard’s final two runners of the day, Nurse Susan and Out Out, finished out of the money, but Skelton can nevertheless be pleased with his afternoon’s work ahead of what looks to be a pivotal Saturday as the Mullins machine rolls into town.
Skelton added: “Tomorrow is a big day. It’s a bigger day for him (Mullins) than it is for me obviously because he’s running so many, but it’s a big day for us in that we don’t want him winning too much!
“He’s going to win something, but this time last year I think we were pennies ahead going into the Saturday so we’re further ahead this year, which is good.
“The boats are coming, but it will be what it will be.”
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Willie Mullins has declared six in Saturday’s Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr as he continues his charge to retain the trainers’ championship.
Last year’s winner Macdermott, ante-post favourite Chosen Witness, Olympic Man, Captain Cody, Spanish Harlem and Klarc Kent will all chase the first prize of over £110,000.
With Paul Townend an absentee and Danny Mullins maintaining his partnership with Macdermott, Aintree hero Patrick Mullins rides Olympic Man, Sean O’Keeffe is on Chosen Witness, Harry Cobden is on Captain Cody, Brian Hayes on Spanish Harlem and Jonathan Burke on Klarc Kent.
The weights are headed by a former Mullins inmate, Mr Incredible, who was somewhat controversially prevented from running at Aintree last week given he has failed to finish his last five races.
Ben Pauling’s Henry’s Friend, the Sam Thomas-trained Our Power, Nicky Richards’ Famous Bridge and Surrey Quest, beaten a nose by Macdermott 12 months ago, are others towards the head of the weights.
Surrey Quest is owned by Surrey Racing, whose Clive Hadingham said: “We had someone walk the course for us this morning and surprisingly the ground has quite a bit of moisture in it which I’m amazed at, so Ayr have done a really good job with the course and there are no ground concerns at all.
“We’ve been planning this really for the whole season. It was always going to be this or the Grand National and whichever race we went for, it was the same training regime. We were always aiming for a big race in the spring.
“Unseating in the Mandarin (at Newbury in December) meant we were then unlikely to get in at Aintree and we have sort of since been all systems go for Ayr. It’s a competitive field and some good horses are in it, but there’s a few not been declared we thought might be and we’re going to give it a good go. ”
Mullins pulled a minor surprise in the Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle by not declaring either Absurde or Kargese.
Instead he runs Ethical Diamond, Bunting, Batman Girac and Karafon, while his title rival Dan Skelton is represented by Valgrand.
Kihavah, Dysart Enos, Under Control and Ooh Betty are among a field of 12.
Western Diego is the Mullins pick in the Scotty Brand Handicap Chase against Skelton’s Asta La Pasta and Etalon, while Loughglynn is the chosen Mullins runner in the CPMS Novices’ Champion Handicap Chase.
Mullins also runs two in the Stagecoach We’Ve Got You Novices’ Handicap Hurdle, plus Chart Topper in the Tennent’s Lager Novices’ Hurdle and Dysart Dolomite in the bumper.
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Willie Mullins is preparing for another British trainers’ title charge after his Randox Grand National dominance put him within touching distance of long-time leader Dan Skelton.
It is somewhat a case of deja vu after the National success of I Am Maximus 12 months ago lit the touch paper for a Closutton assault in the closing weeks of the season.
He also claimed the Scottish Grand National and Sandown’s bet365 Gold Cup en route to overhauling Skelton and becoming the first Irish-based trainer since Vincent O’Brien in the 1950s to lift the British crown.
Patrick Mullins and Willie Mullins with the Randox Grand National trophy (Mike Egerton/PA)
Having started the day just over £1million behind Skelton, Mullins picked up £860,000 in saddling five of the first seven home in the Merseyside marathon – led by Nick Rockett, ridden by his son, Patrick – and is now poised to bring out the artillery in defence of his title.
He said: “Of course we’ll give the title another go now, it looks like it could be on again, to get first, second, third and fifth – we’ll have to improve and get fourth next year!
“Once we didn’t win the first two races yesterday I thought that was our challenge over even if we did win the National because I thought we would need to get a good chunk of money out of the National -which we did.
“I don’t know what the figures are, but it looks like it might put us into a position where we have a real go now. They tell me we’re about £120,000 behind and with those figures we have to go
“I think I will have Mr Casey (David, assistant trainer) back on Tuesday entering horses at Perth, Ayr, Catterick, Carlisle, Fakenham and Fontwell or wherever. We’ll see you wherever there is a race meeting between now and Sandown. We’ll give it a good crack.”
Mullins is odds-on with most bookmakers to retain the British championship, with William Hill making him 8-11 favourite and Skelton eased out to even-money to pick up his first title.
Dan Skelton (right) with brother Harry on Grand National day at Aintree (Mike Egerton/PA)
Skelton, however, will not be giving up on his dream of that first title without a fight.
He said: “We’re improving, but so is he (Mullins). He’s got all those horses and jumping the last (in the Grand National) the first five were all his!
“What can you say, that’s just where he is at the moment. We’re doing unbelievably well, we’ve won over £3million in prize-money, we are getting better and next year we’ll be better again.
“The bar from Willie is so high – he’s just hard to beat.”
While Skelton clearly faces a tougher task than appeared the case at the start of National day, he insists he will not be changing his approach.
“I ain’t going to give up, but I’m definitely not going to be running the wrong horses,” he added.
“I’ll run them, but I’ll only run the right ones – I’m not going to get sucked into doing something silly and what will be will be.
“Our chances are better than they were this time last year as we came out of this meeting behind, whereas this year we’ll come out of this meeting still ahead.
“I’m sure he’ll go and sweep the floor in the last few weeks, I’m sure that’s what his tactic will be, as it was last year. He ran loads in all those valuable races and he got them across the line and I’m sure his approach will be no different this year.
“We don’t have the luxury of that depth in numbers to run in those top-end races yet – that is what we’re trying to achieve.
“We’ll do our best and if he wins it again, hopefully it’s only once more!”
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A long-awaited win and more placed prize-money ensured Dan Skelton’s bid for a first National Hunt trainers’ title race remained on track after day two of Aintree, but his rivals were all on the board too.
Skelton arrived at the meeting with a large buffer and plenty of winning chances, and though four second places on the opening day showed his stable to be in good form, a winner proved elusive.
There were more placed prizes added to his fund on Friday, the most notable of which was Protektorat’s reward for finishing second in the Melling Chase, but She’s A Saint at 25-1 got him off the mark at the fixture in the concluding Hallgarten And Novum Wines Handicap Hurdle.
The race was worth £25,720 to the winner, and Skelton said: “We’ve knocked on the door a bit this week so far, but they’ve all run super and I’m very proud of them. That’s a few more quid in the bank, keep it building!”
Nicky Henderson, third in the table, trained the Melling winner in Jonbon and second-placed Paul Nicholls also enjoyed a valuable win with Caldwell Potter taking the Mildmay Novices’ Chase.
The latter success confirmed Nicholls cannot be counted out of the title race just yet, especially as he has five runners in the Grand National and Skelton has none.
He said: “It’ll be interesting if we win the National, won’t it? Bring it on!”
Reigning champion Willie Mullins is looming in fourth place and had no less than four winners on Thursday, with Friday’s racing then providing two further wins to add to that tally.
In a portent of what might be to come with the National in mind, Gentleman De Mee won over the big fences in the Topham. Salavator Mundi was another Grade One winner for Closutton in the Top Novices’ Hurdle.
He said: “I was pleasantly surprised how well things went for us here last year so I said we better try to do something similar this year.
“Normally we keep all our horses for Punchestown, but it looks like we’ll be changing that tactic after last year’s success and this year’s success so far.
“It looks like you could have two separate teams, one for Punchestown and one for Aintree – and Ayr!”
The National proved so pivotal in the championship 12 months ago when won in brilliant style by I Am Maximus, who has been well-backed to repeat the feat.
Mullins added: “All the horses are running well and we’re looking forward to it.
“I Am Maximus is in good shape. I wish I’d got the last run into him, but it didn’t work out that way.”
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Dan Skelton has described L’Eau Du Sud as “one of our best chances of the week” ahead of his bid for redemption in the Rosconn Group Maghull Novices’ Chase at Aintree.
Despite heading into the Cheltenham Festival as Britain’s leading Arkle hope and at one stage looking the most likely winner, the seven-year-old came home fourth in what was one of the most exciting finishes of the whole week, with his team now eager to correct the record in Liverpool.
“He was unlucky at Cheltenham, just with the way the race played out in the closing stages, but I think Aintree will really suit him,” said Skelton, ahead of L’Eau Du Sud’s rematch with Gavin Cromwell’s Arkle runner-up Only By Night.
“I think in time he will get further, but for now I’m more than happy for him to be racing over two.
“I know he ran at Cheltenham, but he’s come out of the race well and I think there are a few things we can do differently. I think he’s one of our best chances of the week.”
L’Eau Du Sud is owned by a group of well-known names, including Sir Alex Ferguson, who will also be represented by Paul Nicholls’ Kalif Du Berlais.
Impressive over two miles at Newbury earlier in the season and at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, he now drops back in distance after trying his hand over further in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown.
“You can put a line through his last run over two and a half miles on heavy ground and this will be much more to his liking,” explained Nicholls.
“I actually can’t wait to run him. I think he could be quite a smart two-mile chaser and he’s fresh as he didn’t go to Cheltenham and he’s had a nice time since Sandown. We’re hopeful of a nice run.”
Nicholls’ nephew and former assistant Harry Derham also has a great chance of a winner on the Grand National day card as he saddles Wetherby victor Mossy Fen Road in the concluding Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race.
Derham said: “He’s a smart horse and won well (first time) at Wetherby. I just felt galloping down that hill at Cheltenham on good ground (in the Champion Bumper) was worrying me a little bit and this is obviously a much more level track.
“He’s in great nick and I’m looking forward to running him. He’s done everything right so far, but then they have to go and progress again.”
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Willie Mullins demonstrated why he is not to be ruled out of the British National Hunt trainers’ title race after a remarkable Grade One four-timer at Aintree.
Dan Skelton held a significant lead going into the first day of the Grand National meeting and looked in a far more secure position than 12 months ago, when the margin by which he led the championship was decimated by Mullins’ dominance.
The latter would go on to lift the trophy, but that will be a far harder task this season as the Skelton team arrived in Liverpool with an almost unassailable lead ahead of Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson and Mullins respectively.
All bar Skelton have National runners, however, and Mullins could hardly have started the three-day fixture on a more profitable note when winning the first four races on the card – all of which were Grade Ones.
The Skelton stable is far from out of form though, and Live Conti and Grey Dawning placing in the 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle and the Bowl respectively were valuable results, but both times the horse in front was Mullins-trained.
Skelton remains at the head of affairs by some way, but Mullins has already overtaken Henderson to rise to third in the table behind Nicholls and his hand in the National looks a strong one as reigning champion I Am Maximus is the current favourite and described by his trainer as “exactly where I want him”.
On winning the trainers’ title again, Mullins – whose British success last year was the first for an Irish-based handler since Vincent O’Brien in the 1950s – said: “I wouldn’t be worried if I was Dan, he seems to have the thing fairly solid at the moment.
“I can’t see us winning it unless we win the Grand National and Dan has a complete flop, which doesn’t happen.
“We had an extraordinary year last year and we’re a lot more behind this year.”
Patrick Mullins, who is assistant to his father, added: “It’s a good start and the Grand National is going to be the key, but that’s a long way away yet.
“He’s prepared for it, we’re not all guns blazing like last year but in case something won the Grand National, we’ve enough here that we can’t say we left it behind if that’s the case.”
When Skelton – who also had a four-timer, albeit of runner-up finishes – was asked if he was starting to feel the pressure, he said: “Not at this point, no. We’ll see how the next couple of days go and we’ll see about the Grand National, but not at the moment.
“I’m not worried yet. If Willie does beat us again that would be borderline unnecessary!”
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Family ties, fraternising with the enemy and a £500,000 payday are the subplots ahead of Harry Skelton’s annual trip to Aintree for the Grand National festival.
The meeting will be of real significance to the stable for two reasons, with the Skeltons’ fortunes in Liverpool crucial to both the inaugural David Power Jockeys’ Cup and the National Hunt trainers’ championship.
The former looks a forgone conclusion, with Skelton currently enjoying a clear lead over Harry Cobden with only two days left in which to gain points as the initiative comes to a close when racing ends on the Friday of Aintree.
That means no less than £500,000 is imminently heading his way, with £50,000 also awarded to his brother Dan as his chief provider of rides and a further £50,000 due to be paid to the team of stable staff at Shelfield Green.
Naturally, his own outstanding payday is motivation enough, but Harry’s success in the series – which sees riders earn points in ITV-televised races – is further inspired by the reward his sibling and his employees will receive for their role in the victory.
“It looks like I’m in a good position going into the final two days, I’m just trying to get across the line now,” he said.
Harry and Dan Skelton at Cheltenham (Mike Egerton/PA)
“I predominantly ride for my brother and he’s obviously played a massive part in this to make sure we covered the races (in the series) as much as we could.
“We’re really lucky that we’ve got high-calibre horses that can run in those races anyway, but this was something right at the top of our list.
“At the end of the day, I have to go out there and perform and get results for our owners, my trainer and for our staff.
“They all love competing and love winning as well. I’m sort of the last man out there, and it’s up to me and the horse then.
“If I can bring home the bacon, I’m sure everyone will be absolutely delighted, without them the whole system doesn’t run.”
The Skelton brothers, sons of the double Olympic showjumping gold medallist Nick, share a close bond forged when their parents split during their childhood.
They have been pivotal to one another’s success and are led by a principle of unwavering loyalty that runs deeper than the sport.
A photo of Harry Skelton with his father Nick and brother Dan (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Skelton said: “We’ve done everything together for basically all of our lives, Dan’s always been there to support me and that stems back to our childhood, really, to when we were very young.
“My parents broke up when my I was very young and I suppose he was the one that was always there.”
That loyalty will not be tested by the jockey’s brief alliance with Paul Nicholls during the Grand National itself, for whom he will ride Threeunderthrufive, as his brother does not have a runner to saddle this year.
There is a healthy mentor-turned-rival relationship between Nicholls and the elder Skelton, who learnt his trade at Ditcheat before striking out on his own with his younger brother as his stable jockey.
Nicholls has on many occasions held the champion National Hunt trainer’s title, but this year sits second in the table with a significant deficit to make up if he is to catch his former apprentice.
The Grand National is the jump season’s most valuable race, meaning success for Threeunderthrufive could result in a catch 22 for Harry Skelton, as his own triumph would carry the heavy cost of denting his brother’s title bid.
Threeunderthrufive, Skelton’s Grand National ride (Simon Marper/PA)
That would not be irreparably damaged, however, especially if the prior days at Aintree are fruitful and add plenty to the Skelton coffers to broaden the leading margin.
“I’m looking forward to Aintree, it’s always a slightly different atmosphere to Cheltenham but it’s been great to us in the past and we’ve always done pretty well up there,” said Skelton.
“I’m looking forward to Live Conti, he’s a nice, promising horse who runs on Thursday. Grey Dawning runs in the Bowl and L’Eau Du Sud runs on Saturday. Protektorat is going to run in the Melling Chase.
“There are plenty of nice chances up there, so hopefully I can get some more points and prize-money.”
Last year’s National went the way of Willie Mullins’ I Am Maximus, whose earnings loosened Skelton’s grip on a first champion trainer triumph – a title that eventually went to the master of Closutton after a long battle to the end of the season.
“At this point last year, we had a chance at the trainers’ title, this year we can almost smell the trophy,” Skelton said.
“Last year, we never really thought we would be in that position and then Willie won the National and just about everything else after that, so it all changed.
Trainer Dan Skelton with his father Nick (David Davies/PA)
“This year feels different, we set out our stall from a very early stage when the new season started back in May. This year, it would feel a little bit different if it got snatched away again. We’ve given it everything and will continue to do so for the rest of the season.”
Though his ride for Nicholls adds a dash of jeopardy to the end of the term, Dan Skelton is still the long odds-on favourite to lift the trophy and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Harry wins the big race and Dan still takes the title.
“I’m going to ride Threeunderthrufive for Paul Nicholls. Paul is second in the trainers’ championship, so if I win the National it could be a bit controversial, I suppose!” the jockey said.
“I’m sure no one would begrudge me if I won the Grand National, but even if Paul does win the National, or Willie, they’ve still got plenty to make up.
“I sat on him, he feels very well and has run to a pretty high level for most of his career. He’s got plenty of experience, he’s not been round the Aintree fences before, so it’s something new for him that will hopefully keep him interested.
“He ran well last time at Ascot and he seems to go on any ground, he ticks plenty of boxes, so who knows?
“We’re still in a good position, if I could win the National and Dan was still champion trainer, now that’d be a fairytale, wouldn’t it?”
To find out more about the Grand National Festival and the David Power Jockeys’ Cup visit www.greatbritishracing.com
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